Maria has a budget of $7 to spend on apples and oranges. The marginal utility from the last apple she consumes is 5 utils, and the price of an apple is $1. The marginal utility from the last orange she consumes is 6 utils, and the price of an orange is $2. How should Maria allocate her budget to maximize her utility?

Maria should buy apples first because each dollar spent on an apple gives her 5 utils, while the same dollar on an orange gives only 3 utils (6 utils ÷ $2). Since 5 utils per dollar is higher than 3, the apples give her more satisfaction per dollar. With a $7 budget she can buy 7 apples at $1 each, spending all her money. This way she gets 35 utils (7 apples × 5 utils each). She would not buy any oranges, because any orange would lower her total utility.